MISSILE DEFENSE

BRUCE GRANER/PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL

1960s: Patriot is conceived as a portable defense system to shoot down enemy aircraft with missiles. Mid-1980s: Upgrades begin to allow Patriot to defend against ballistic missiles. Later deployed for use in Desert Storm. $13 billion: The total amount spent by the Pentagon on the Patriot missile system since the early 1970s.

1960s: Patriot is conceived as a portable defense system to shoot down enemy aircraft with missiles. Mid-1980s: Upgrades begin to allow Patriot to defend against ballistic missiles. Later deployed for use in Desert Storm. $13 billion: The total amount spent by the Pentagon on the Patriot missile system since the early 1970s. (BRUCE GRANER/PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL)

A battery of Patriot missiles is deployed in the Kuwaiti desert in September 2002. Similar Patriot batteries shot down 9 Iraqi missiles and 2 allied warplanes during the U.S.-led military strike against Iraq.

A battery of Patriot missiles is deployed in the Kuwaiti desert in September 2002. Similar Patriot batteries shot down 9 Iraqi missiles and 2 allied warplanes during the U.S.-led military strike against Iraq. (GUSTAVO FERRARI FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)